POULTRY FARMING IN UASIN GISHU.
Eldoret, The Land of Champions!
Uasin Gishu County accounts for nearly 70% of the country’s total agriculture output. However, the county has not quite mastered the art of poultry farming. Poultry farming basically involves the keeping of birds domestically for either home use or commercially. In Uasin Gishu County, most farmers that practice poultry farming is small-scale, so the county has decided to boost knowledge and the reach for poultry farming in Uasin Gishu.
Some of the types of poultry kept in Uasin Gishu are;
- Chicken; Layers, Broilers, and Kienyeji Chicken.
- Duck
- Geese
- Turkey
IMPROVED KIENYEJI CHICKEN
The county has developed a program for sensitizing farmers on the importance of keeping improved kienyeji chicken. These are chickens that are both disease resistant, have high productivity in terms of meat and eggs, and require low input. These are the kinds of birds that will boost small-scale farmers economically in Uasin Gishu. The most common types of improved kienyeji chicken in Kenya are;
- Rainbow Rooster
- Kuroiler
- Kari Improved Kienyeji.
HELPS SMALL SCALE FARMERS
Poultry farming is a program that has helped most small-scale farmers in Uasin Gishu County. Women and youth have been funded by the county to help grow their businesses by being given one-day-old chicks and incubators.
Despite being given these grants, the survival of these day-old chicks was not successful. So the county was tasked with educating the women and youth of Uasin Gishu County who showed keen interest in poultry farming.
THE INUA MAMA NA KUKU PROJECT.
This is a venture that has been set up by Uasin Gishu County to help uplift the small-scale farmers of Uasin Gishu County. Most poultry farmers who benefited from this project prefer the broiler chicken over the kienyeji chicken because of the soft nature of the broiler.
CHALLENGES OF POULTRY FARMING IN UASIN GISHU COUNTY.
- MARKET PRICES
Market prices are a huge problem for not only farmers in Uasin Gishu County. Be it the price of feeds or the pricing of your birds. Poor market prices have made the idea of poultry farming in Uasin Gishu county look like a hoax. The county has come up with ways of educating farmers on methods of value addition and making their own home-mixed feed for their poultry.
- DISEASES
Diseases are the greatest threat when it comes to poultry farming. Farmers are always advised to stick to the required biosecurity measures like;
- Preparing a foot bath for farmers visiting their farms or visitors.
- Having specific attire on the farm.
- Limiting the number of visitors that you get in a certain period.
Still, poultry farmers are required to periodically and genuinely vaccinate their poultry.
Poultry farming is one of the ventures that are top earners for small-scale farmers in Uasin Gishu. Thanks to the County Government. The table banking system ‘chama’ has helped uplift small-scale farmers who have used poultry farming to invest in other ventures.
